John,

Yesterday, a federal judge heard initial arguments in the case of Mahmoud Khalil, the Palestinian activist who was kidnapped by federal agents on Saturday.

In a frightening escalation of the criminalization of dissent, ICE agents abducted him from his New York home, said they’d revoke his green card, and transferred him 1,300 miles away to an ICE facility in Louisiana—simply for peacefully expressing his political opinion. Unfortunately, the federal judge overseeing this case didn’t take immediate action, and Mahmoud is still detained in Louisiana.

One of Mahmoud’s lawyers released statements from his wife, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant, saying: “For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby.”

Mahmoud’s wife explained that she and him had just returned from an Iftar dinner on Saturday, breaking the day’s fast during this holy month of Ramadan. As they were entering their university-owned apartment, ICE agents pushed inside. She said: “We were not shown any warrant and the ICE officers hung up the phone on our lawyer… Within minutes, they had handcuffed Mahmoud, took him out into the street and forced him into an unmarked car. Watching this play out in front of me was traumatizing.”

This is straight out of the fascist playbook, and it’s an illegal assault on our constitutional rights. Protesting genocide is not a crime.

We must continue speaking up and fighting back against this fascism. This is a test case and it couldn’t be more important we stop this and bring Mahmoud Khalil home. Mahmoud’s rights are our rights. If the Trump administration can illegally abduct him and shred his legal rights, they will never stop. Anyone this lawless administration disagrees with can be targeted.

Add your name to join me and the 13 other Congresspeople who signed onto a letter demanding Mahmoud’s immediate release from Department of Homeland Security custody. We’re demanding his release, the reinstatement of his green card, and his swift return home to his family.

In yesterday’s court hearing about Mahmoud Khalil’s detention, the federal judge extended his order to temporarily block Mahmoud’s deportation and ordered Mahmoud be allowed two private calls with his attorneys. He asked Mahmoud’s lawyers and lawyers from the Trump administration to submit letters with further plans this Friday.

Mahmoud’s attorneys want him transferred back to New York for immigration proceedings. One of his attorneys, Amy Greer, said: “He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment.” The American Civil Liberties Union is also joining his legal team, saying: “ICE unlawfully arrested and detained him in retaliation for his political views.”

Mahmoud’s wife said in a statement: “Instead of putting together our nursery and washing baby clothes in anticipation of our first child, I am left sitting in our apartment, wondering when Mahmoud will get a chance to call me from a detention center. I demand the U.S. government release him, reinstate his green card, and bring him home.”

Will you add your name to lift up Mahmoud’s wife’s demands? Together we must pressure the Trump administration to release Mahmoud Khalil and refrain from further illegal arrests targeting political speech.

Thank you for taking action, and please keep speaking up about this wherever you can. Together, we will continue resisting fascism and defending our rights.

With you in this fight,

Rashida

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Rashida Tlaib
Date: Wed, Mar 12, 2025
Subject: Free Mahmoud Khalil
To: [email protected]

John,

I’m horrified by this weekend’s illegal abduction and detention of U.S. legal permanent resident Mahmoud Khalil. Without any warrants or charges, plainclothes immigration agents arrested him for exercising his First Amendment rights and participating in pro-Palestine student protests at Columbia University. Refusing to identify themselves, the agents even threatened to arrest his wife, a U.S. citizen who is eight months pregnant.

Federal agents first told Khalil that the State Department revoked his student visa. When they were told that he was actually a legal permanent resident with a green card, the agents were confused but then said the State Department “revoked that, too.” They hung up on Khalil’s attorney who demanded a warrant. Then the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) effectively disappeared Khalil for days, denying him access to legal counsel and to family visitation.

These are illegal violations of Khalil’s constitutional rights to free speech and due process, and this is a threat to all Americans who engage in political protest. Trump warned: “This is the first arrest of many to come,” saying he plans to imprison and deport more students involved in protests. We cannot be silent in the face of this lawless abuse of power. We cannot allow fascist targeting of people for expressing their political opinion.

We must keep ramping up public pressure to release Mahmoud Khalil. A federal judge temporarily blocked Khalil’s deportation until a court hearing TODAY.

I led 13 of my colleagues in a letter demanding the Trump administration immediately release Khalil—including Al Green, Jasmine Crockett, Nydia M. Valázquez, and more. Will you join us?

Please add your name to join our call and demand Mahmoud Khalil’s immediate release from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) custody.

DHS only provided information about Khalil’s whereabouts after a New York court filed a legal petition to challenge his detention, revealing that DHS had transferred him over 1,300 miles from his home to an ICE facility in Louisiana. They have still not charged him with any crime. The American Civil Liberties Union has called these moves “unprecedented.”

Our Congressional letter not only demands Khalil’s immediate release, but also calls on the Department of Homeland Security to “immediately refrain from any further illegal arrests targeting constitutionally protected speech and activity.”

We will not let the Trump administration shred our constitutional rights to free speech and due process. The right to dissent is a foundation of democracy. Criminalizing protest is not only intended to silence the U.S. solidarity movement with Palestine, but is also a threat to all Americans who dare to speak out against our government.

Since last spring’s campus protests, when police arrested over 3,500 students across the country, universities have put in place new rules to suppress dissent, surveil students, and increase campus collaboration with law enforcement.

Now the new presidential administration could further endanger students with visas, the 13 million green card holders in our country, and even U.S. citizens. In a New York Times article titled, “This is the greatest threat to free speech since the Red Scare,” Michelle Goldberg writes: "a government this willing to disregard the First Amendment is a danger to us all."

The article also quotes Margo Schlanger, a law professor who served in Obama’s administration as the DHS head of civil rights. Affirming that all people in this country have the same free speech protections as citizens, she said: “I teach constitutional law. And I’m freaking out.”

We must speak up—if Trump gets away with this, his administration will target more students, protesters, and people who disagree with him. We will resist this authoritarianism together.

Please sign on now to demand Mahmoud Khalil’s immediate release from DHS custody and speak out against the Trump administration’s illegal, unconstitutional, and unacceptable actions.

Thank you for continuing to stand up for our rights and our shared humanity.

With you in this fight,

Rashida